EPA Announces a Schedule of Public Hearings on Proposed Coal Ash Regulations

Published: August 19, 2010

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting seven public hearings on the agency's proposal to regulate the disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants. EPA's proposal is the first-ever national effort to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants.

Each hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue until 9:00 p.m. with a break at noon and 5:00 p.m. local time. The hearings will continue past 9:00 p.m. if necessary. People who wish for a guaranteed slot to speak must register no later than three business days before each hearing. Additionally, walk-ins and written comments will be accepted at each hearing. The agency will consider the public's comments in its final decision.

The need for national management criteria and regulation was emphasized by the December 2008 spill of coal ash from a surface impoundment near Kingston, Tenn. The proposal will ensure for the first time that protective controls, such as liners and ground water monitoring, are in place at new landfills to protect groundwater and human health. Existing surface impoundments will also require liners, with strong incentives to close these impoundments and transition to safer landfills which store coal ash in dry form. The proposed regulations will ensure stronger oversight of the structural integrity of impoundments and promote environmentally safe and desirable forms of recycling coal ash, known as beneficial uses.

EPA has proposed two main management approaches, one of which phases out surface impoundments and moves all coal ash to landfills; the other allows coal ash to be disposed in surface impoundments, but with stricter safety criteria.